18 Christmas/Holiday Nail Art Ideas

It's that time of year and Christmas is almost upon us! With all your hustling and bustling you may not have had much time for your nails. Well I hope you can find some time to relax and enjoy yourself. Of course one of my favorite ways to relax is to paint my nails! I've created some mostly simple nail art looks if you wanted to spice up your holiday manis. You can pick one look to do on each nail, just for an accent, or mix and match them. I hope you find a little inspiration here and enjoy all the festivities!

1. Contrasting Frame

Start with base color. Let it dry a little. With striping brush, paint contrasting polish along the edges of entire nail. 

Picture Polish Kryptonite, Formula X for Sephora Temptation

2. Double Diagonal Stripes
Start with base color. Add first color of diagonal stripes, let dry a little. Then add another color of diagonal stripes slightly on top of the first.
OPI Underneath The Mistletoe , Sephora by OPI Queen Of Everything, Zoya Pure

3. Wreath With Bow
Start with base color. With dotting tool add connecting dots in a circle. With small brush add bow shape on top of the circle.
Orly Mirrorball, Sephora by OPI I Come In Peas, Deborah Lippmann Stand By Your Man

4. Cherry Vanilla Pepsi
Why not match your nails to your drink? Begin with nude base coat. Let it dry for a few minutes. Choose a silvery red shade. With the brush from the bottle paint a swoopy diagonal line. After that dries for a few minutes, choose a deeper red shade. With the brush from the bottle paint above the line, following the same shape and fill in the nail above.
OPI You're So Vain-illa, A England Briar Rose, A England Rose Bower

5. Snowflakes In Space
Begin with black base color. Using a small piece of sponge dab on white polish in a wide section on the nail. Use another piece of sponge to dab on a medium blue polish over the white. Repeat the process again with a light pink polish. With a small brush and acrylic paint draw on snowflakes and add a few dots.
Zoya Storm

6. Glitter Gradient

Apply base color. Apply glitter at tip of nail. For added interest, apply second glitter over the first and farther down the nail. 

Deborah Lippmann Stand By Your Man
, Formula X by OPI, Sephora by OPI The Golden Age,  Formula X for Sephora Starlight

7. Dotted Gradient

With large dotting tool add big dots at the base of the nail. Then with a smaller dotting tool and some smaller dots in between the large ones and going down the nail. 

Zoya Pure, Formula X for Sephora Temptation,  Sephora by OPI I Come In Peas, Deborah Lippmann Stand By Your Man

8. String Of Lights

Begin with base color. With a small brush draw on the string with a few light bulbs. Use sheer colors to fill in the bulbs with. (A stray piece of glitter landed on this one. It's not actually part of the look!)

Colores de Carol Vintage Lights

9. Glitter Placement Snowflake

Apply base color. Then with waxy pencil or toothpick dipped in clear polish, place glitters one by one. If the base polish isn't tacky anymore, apply a stripe of topcoat down the nail, then place the glitters. Finish with topcoat.

Nicole by OPI Stand Bu Your Manny

10. Dry Brushstroke

Start with a white base. Once that is sufficiently dry choose a couple more polishes. I chose a gold foil and gold glitter. Wipe polish off on lip of bottle until almost no polish remains. Drag a few strokes over the nail, getting more polish from bottle if needed. Repeat with other shade.

Zoya Pure, Formula X for Sephora Temptation, Formula X for Sephora Starlight

11. Skinny Triangle

Apply base color and make sure it's completely dry. Using two sides of tape, create skinny triangle shape. Apply polish between tape, then quickly remove tape.

OPI True Stephani Fashion, Zoya Hunter

12. Decal Tree

On a plastic bag or nail art mat apply three nail sized sections of top coat. Over those sections paint on three different polishes, then top with another layer of top coat. Once your decals have dried, peel them off your surface and cut into triangles. Apply base color on nail and arrange your decals over it. Finish with top coat.
(I am having a brain jam and can't remember who inspired this look. If you know who it originated from, please let me know in the comments)
Renaissance Custom Lacquer Emerald Envy, ALIQUID Lacquer Feronia, Colores de Carol Tree In A Bottle

13. Half Nail Polka dots

Apply base color. With a small dotting tool or toothpick, add dots down the center of the nail. Continue with alternating dots on only one Half of the nail.

Deborah Lippmann Stand By Your Man, Formula X for Sephora Temptation

14. Half Moon Snowflake

Begin with base color. With small brush and with polish paint on a partial snowflake at the base of the nail.  Zoya Nyx, Zoya Pure

15. Glitzy Leopard

Begin with nude base color. Add gold spots. With dotting tool or brush paint irregular "c" shapes around the spots.    
OPI You're So Vain-illa, Formula X for Sephora Temptation, Zoya Hunter

16. Chocolate Mint Swirl

Begin with mint base color. Add a dot in the middle of the nail with brown polish. Using a striping brush paint on swirls starting at the dot and extending to the edges. 
Jenna Hipp Mint To Be,  Zoya Louise

17. Decked With Holly

Start with base color. Using a dotting tool add some red dots for the berries. Then with a small brush paint on the green leaves.
Formula X for Sephora Temptation, Deborah Lippmann Stand By Your Man, Zoya Hunter

18. Striping Tape Tree

Apply base color and make sure it's completely dry. Using striping tape or nail vinyls create a "V" shape on the nail. Then lay the tape diagonally over the "V" in three sections. Paint inside of shape with green polish. Remove tape one by one in the opposite order it was applied. Add a star or simple gold dot at the top 

Zoya Pure, A England Dragon

See any ideas you like? I'd love to know if you give any of these looks a try! Have a very Merry Christmas! I hope Santa brings you lots and lots of nail polish.

xoxo Emiline xoxo